ResLifing Ain't Easy
by SuspiciousPenguin
Summary: Hijack RA/College AU. Multi-verse fic. Hiccup is a new freshman at Burgess University who can't seem to keep his eyes off of his RA, Jack. Follow the pair's relationship through the first year and maybe a little bit beyond (unless that part becomes a sequel). Rated T for college shenanigans. Eventual Hijack (like way down the road). Other side-couples will be scattered throughout.
1. Move-In

12:12 PM.

The colon between the numbers blinked at what seemed to the impatient young man who was sitting in the dorm hallway to be much slower than was really necessary.

Blink.

Blink.

12:13 PM.

Blink.

Blink.

Fuck. Still another seventeen minutes until his coworker would return, allowing him to go down and take a quick lunch break.

The restless male in question wore a nametag that identified him as "Jack Overland, Resident Assistant", and he was certainly a sight to behold. His naturally dark hair had been bleached to the point where it could be easily confused for white, lending him the nickname "Frost". His eyes were so blue that people often asked if he wore contacts (he did, actually, as most people do nowadays; however, they were clear, and the color of his eyes was, in fact, very natural). His long, lean body was lusted after by males and females alike. Its shape was accentuated by the dark skinny jeans and tight-fitting, royal blue staff shirt that he was required to wear for move-in day. The look was completed by a single black stud earring in each lobe. Oh yes, he was a tall drink of water, alright.

Jack sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He drummed the fingers of his other hand against his knee as he checked his watch again, only to see that the unmerciful object was still staring at him with the cold, stony glare of 12:13. He was just about to send his co-RA Jamie a teasing text bugging him to come back from lunch early when the now-familiar sound of a key being inserted into a lock reached the young man's ears. He stood up, brushed himself off, and approached the crash doors, preparing to help another resident get all checked in and ready to go.

What Jack had not prepared for, though, was the way that his breath would catch at the sight of the boy walking through the door. He was really more "adorable" than he was traditionally "attractive": pale, scrawny, brown hair that almost gave off a reddish shine, green eyes that were a little too big for his face, slightly crooked teeth…

But the thing that stood out to Jack and made him really take notice was the freckles. He would never admit it, but freckles were his biggest turn-on. Even just a small smattering would make Jack go weak in the knees, and this boy seemed to have them everywhere. He was wearing a forest green wife-beater with his brown denim pants and brown leather wristband, giving Jack an all-access pass to check out the way the freckles trailed down the boy's arms. Good lord, he had so many, his shoulders were practically solid brown.

Jack caught himself before it was obvious that he was staring and cleared his throat to refocus his thoughts. "Hi," he said with his signature crooked smile that made the girls melt. "I'm Jack; I'm one of the RAs. Are you moving in?"

The boy gazed back at Jack with a sarcastic glare. He looked around to all of the boxes being carried in by the large man behind him before turning his attention back to Jack. "With all of this stuff? Nah, I just decided today would be a fun day to take everything I own up two flights of stairs in the blistering heat. Why, were you expecting someone?"

Well shit. He had a sense of humor, too. Jack let out a small chuckle and shook his head before responding. "Well, if that's all you're doing, I'll just leave you be. I just need to get your name and room number so I can get some paperwork. You do know you need a permit to bring your possessions on parade here."

The boy cracked a smile. "Of course. You can't just let anyone bring their crap up, can you?" He laughed a little bit before continuing. "Anyway, I'm Henrik Haddock, room 338. You can call me 'Hiccup', though."

"'Hiccup'?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow. When the incoming resident shot him a look, Jack shrugged and let it go. He guessed it wasn't much stranger than "Frost" or some of the other weird nicknames around campus. "Well, let me just go and grab that stuff for you, and then we can get you settled."

"Sounds good," Hiccup replied, and he proceeded to begin moving his things to room 338.

Jack, meanwhile, was returning to his room to get the paperwork. He shook his head, allowing his cheeks to relax and flap a little bit in the air.

This had happened before, of course. This was the beginning of Jack's fourth semester as an RA (he had been pulled in as an emergency replacement at the beginning of the second semester of his freshman year), and he had seen some incredibly attractive residents walk through those doors. Not once, though, had he compromised his professionalism (well, not more than usual, anyway), a point of pride for the young man. Anyway, this boy would just be another one of those instances, he was sure of it.

When Jack returned, the man who had been following Hiccup, presumably a relative of some sort based on the very slight resemblance in facial structure, had already moved at least 10 or 15 boxes into the not-so-empty-anymore dorm room. Jack knocked on the propped-open door, startling Hiccup to the point where he nearly dropped the box of clothing that he was holding. "Ah, why would you do that?" The younger male called out in surprise.

Jack put a hand up to his mouth and suppressed a short laugh. "Aw, I'm sorry," he said, "I just need to get you to sign a form real quick." Jack waved the carbon-copy paper at Hiccup and stepped forward into the room. "This is a room condition form. It just details any minor damage to the room so you don't get fined for it later and so that you're aware of any minor issues, blah blah blah… Point is, I need you to sign and date here," he pointed with his blue pen, "initial here," another point, "and fill out some basic information here," and one final point, "so we know how to reach you if anything goes wrong."

Hiccup nodded and reached for the paper and pen that Jack was offering him. "This is my dad, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," the large man boomed in a Scottish rogue, nearly crushing Jack's hand as he took it in his own. "I'm Stoick. You take good care of my fish-bone of a son here, or I'll have your hide as a rug in my den, you hear that?"

"Yes, sir, loud and clear." Jack almost saluted, but he feared that the man might actually skin him alive.

"Don't listen to him," Hiccup rolled his eyes as he filled out the form. "He's just a little overprotective. He wouldn't even let me get a dog back home. Something about not wanting me to get bitten."

"Yeah, I get that." Jack laughed quietly to himself. "Anyway," he continued, pulling the cap off of a Sharpie with a satisfying pop, "you said you like to go by Hiccup? Like…" Jack finished his question by pretending to hiccup, his chest moving up briefly and a small noise coming from his mouth.

"Yeah, just like the bodily function." The auburn-haired lad rolled his eyes. "Thanks for summing that up for me."

Jack found himself laughing again. He was really going to like this resident. He began writing the unusual nickname on the paper guitar that would be hung on the door for the whole year. When he had finished, he took some pieces of painter's tape off of the roll on his wrist and affixed the door dec to the solid, gray portal. "There you are." Jack smiled and gestured to the door. "Now everyone who passes by this entrance knows that 'Hiccup the Horrendous' resides in this humble dorm room."

"Thanks for that." Hiccup handed the good-humored male the carbon copy paper with an almost-embarrassed smile.

"Cool, thank** you**" Jack returned the smile with one of his own and handed the boy a small, blue, laminated card. "This is your hall entry card. You'll need it to get into the building after 11 PM. We have a mandatory floor meeting at 3:30, so I'd better see you there." It took everything that Jack had to not throw in a wink at the end of that sentence. "If you have any questions about anything, feel free to come ask me or my co, Jamie."

By this time, Stoick had clearly gotten bored and wandered off. He turned from where he was staring at a bulletin board in the hallway and called out, "you know what, Hiccup, it looks like this man's got it handled. I'm gonna' be heading back home to take care of some business. You behave, and call me when you're done unpacking."

"Alright, Dad," Hiccup poked his head out of the door to wave down the hall. "Thanks for helping and everything. Have a good trip back."

And with a quick "bye, son", the large Scottish man was gone. Jack turned his head to watch his newest resident begin to unpack for a moment. "Your dad is huge," he stated finally, aching to break the silence.

"Yup, that's my dad for ya'." Hiccup hefted a box (that couldn't have really been that heavy, I mean honestly) up onto his bed with a grunt. As he bent forward, his wife-beater rode up a bit in the back, allowing Jack a glimpse at the freckled lower back being exposed to him right now. But he also caught sight of something else. There, on the back of Hiccup's left hip, Jack spied a black mass of leathery-looking skin. It took the older male a moment to realize that what he was looking at was a small portion of a tattoo. He smiled and made a mental note to ask about it later. He was insanely curious as to what was hidden down there, but as quickly as it appeared, it was gone with a swift tug downwards on the shirt.

"So…" Hiccup turned around to face Jack again, stretching his arms as he did so. "What exactly do you do here?"

Jack then began explaining his position as RA and what his role was on campus. Hiccup continued asking questions, and before Jack knew it, Jamie was tapping his shoulder and telling the "lover-boy" (as he so put it) that it was his turn for lunch. Jamie picked up Jack's end of the conversation as the white-haired boy begrudgingly walked down the hallway to go eat his quick lunch in his supervisor's office.

Oh, yes, Jack thought as he pushed open the heavy door, this was going to be a fun year.


	2. The First Events

_Hi, all, I'm back with another chapter! Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, added this story to their favorites, or followed this story. I'm really glad you all seem to be enjoying it so far! Well, here's the next chapter. A few more characters are introduced here. I hope that they all seem at least relatively in character. Also, please don't be afraid to send in criticism. I love hearing what I can improve on as much as what you liked/what worked._

_One last thing that I forgot in the last chapter: Rise of the Guardians and How to Train Your Dragon belong to Dreamworks Animation. Also, specifically for this chapter, The Princess Bride belongs to Fox and MGM. I will add more disclaimers as other characters and such show up. Anyway, here's chapter two! Enjoy :)_

Jack was about ready to tear his hair out.

Okay, no, he wouldn't really do that. He cared WAY too much about his carefully-groomed appearance to do something quite so heinous as that.

For real, though, these residents were driving the pair of RAs bonkers. It was now about 4:40 or so, almost all the way through the first floor meeting. They knew it was hot. They knew it was lots of boring information. They knew it sucked that this was mandatory. The guys didn't have to remind them every few seconds.

"Okay, guys, really? We are almost done," Jamie Bennett ran his hands through his messy, brown hair. He had large, expressive brown eyes and a very young-looking face. Jamie was currently a 19-year-old sophomore (exactly a year and four months younger than Jack, although one may think it was the opposite based off of their respective maturity levels, thankyouverymuch), and this was his first time as an RA. He had known Jack since they were children, and was one of Jack's residents the year before. They were an unstoppable power team, to be honest. They liked to have fun and be goofy, which often ended in pranks upon pranks being pulled on their friends, coworkers… Hell, even instructors weren't immune.

But as for right now, this whole "power team" thing just did not seem to be working for Jamie. He was stressed out and frustrated with the residents, even more so because he honestly had not known what to expect. He had moved in late last year, so he missed the first floor meetings. This was a brand-new experience for him.

Jack placed a comforting hand on his co-RA's shoulder when the chatting residents didn't listen. He lifted his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly to get the boys to pay attention for the last bit of information.

**That **made everyone shut up. "Now listen up," Jack stated firmly. "We are going to finish this meeting and we are going to go over to the 'Taste of Burgess' event to get food. But we are not going to do that and avoid the long lines if you all do not. Stop.** Talking**."

There was a moment of silence while the residents sat back in shock. A faint whisper of "I thought he was the fun one" came from the back of the lounge in which the meeting was being held, but other than that, nothing.

"Now," Jack continued, now back to his "cool RA" voice, "last thing we need to talk about is our next floor meeting. It will be held tomorrow at 6:30 in the basement lounge. As you know, your guys' keys unlock the girls' side of the floor in addition to our own side, and vice-versa. Because of that, we're going to combine the girls' side with us guys for the meeting tomorrow so you all can meet them and get to know them a little bit. So, what time are we meeting?"

The group assembled before the confident RA groaned out a collective "6:30."

"And where?" Jack continued.

"The basement." Came the answer.

"Who will also be there?"

"The girls."

Jack stared intently into the crowd of guys looking back at him. He peered at them for a moment before breaking out into a huge smile and announcing, "thanks, guys. Meeting adjourned." The residents began standing up and chatting with each other almost immediately. "If you want to walk over to 'Taste' with us, you can come this-a-way." Jack continued over the noise, raising both hands over his head and pointing toward the exit. He and Jamie began walking together in the direction indicated. "Excellent work, buddy," Jack grinned at his co.

"Back at you," Jamie returned the smile with one of his own. "Hey, Jack, residents aren't, ah, always like this, are they?"

"Yup!" Jack replied cheerfully. He stuck his hands in his pockets and whistled a merry melody while he continued walking toward the football stadium from the dorm.

"Wait… Really?" Jamie's face paled as he thought about the upcoming year. "But they don't ever…"

"Nope," Jack smiled. "You just kind of learn to roll with it."

Jamie was just about to reply when the pair heard an incredibly awkward throat-clearing coming from behind them. "Hey, guys," came the uncertain voice of Hiccup. "Mind if I, ah, join in?"

Jack's grin grew even bigger. "'Course you can! Jamie, this is Hiccup. He moved in while you were on lunch break."

"Dude, I know, Jack." The younger of the pair gave his friend a look like he was an idiot. "I finished up answering some of his questions when you went to lunch, remember?"

"Oh… Heh, right…" Jack allowed his voice to trail off.

"Smooooooooth," Hiccup's tone was absolutely dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, like I'm seeing you doing much better." Jack replied playfully. Hiccup went give him a weak punch on the shoulder, but the white-haired boy was too fast. Jack stuck his tongue out in apparent victory.

"Wow, mature." Hiccup clapped his hands in mock-applause. "Are you sure **you're** supposed to be the one in charge here? 'Cause I'm starting to think children are more your speed."

"Daaaaaamn," Jamie covered his mouth in surprise. "He's got you **pegged**, son."

Jack went to go flick Jamie's nose, but the other RA wasn't having any of that. He grabbed Jack's hand in his own. Jack, accepting the challenge, used his other hand to try to ruffle Jamie's hair. This evolved into a brief, playful scuffle before they naturally fell apart.

Jack laughed and looked back to Hiccup again. "Anyway, you're actually pretty much right. I'm a child development major. I love kids."

"Huh, that's really interesting. What can you, you know, do with that?" Hiccup, to his credit, actually seemed somewhat interested.

"I want to be a child life specialist, mainly. They basically help families that have kids who are sick and dying." Jack, a little bit uncomfortable, cleared his throat. "I mean, that, or I'd like to be a social worker. That would be cool, too. I'm also a dance minor."

"Now **that**," Hiccup pointed at his RA, eyes widened, "is different."

"It's because there's a bunch of cute guys in his dance classes," Jamie teased, ducking before Jack could even get close to hitting him.

"It's because I love to dance, ass-wad." Jack's voice was stern, but his smile betrayed his joking manner. "Besides, the girls really like me, so nyeh." That last word, if you can call it that, was Jack sticking out his tongue yet again at his longtime best friend.

The two were so distracted with their pretend fight that they didn't notice the look on Hiccup's face when Jamie had made his quip. It was fleeting; there one instant and gone the next. Hiccup could feel his face getting warm, and it wasn't from the heat.

By now, the trio was standing in line for food. They each got a certain number of free tickets that could then be traded in for food from area restaurants, and they were currently in line for a Japanese place. Hiccup swallowed hard, clearing his mind before asking his next question. "So, Jamie, what do you do?"

"I'm just a cultural anthro major." Jamie shrugged. "Mythology and stuff. Nothing too exciting, I guess. What about you?"

Hiccup suddenly looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, just, you know, art…" He picked at a loose thread on his wristband. "With an emphasis in metalworking and jewelry-making." This last part was muttered, rather than spoken out loud as before.

"Jewelry?" Jack tried his hardest; really he did, to hold in a laugh. "That's definitely unique!"

"Yeah, I figured there weren't enough jewelry-making Vikings. Really, though, it's not about the jewelry," Hiccup corrected, the sarcasm barely hiding his annoyance. "I actually couldn't decide between engineering and art, so I figured metalworking would be a nice compromise."

"That sounds really cool, Hiccup," Jamie shot a pointed look at his still-chuckling co-RA. "It's more than this one is doing with his life."

"Hey, I take offense to that!" Jack pushed his shoulder against Jamie's, then turned to see that they had reached the front of the line. He proceeded to order his food.

The guys continued laughing and joking with each other as they ate their sushi. They visited a few more booths, getting some frozen yogurt and such, but they were mostly occupied with their conversations. At one point, they passed a group of bizarrely-dressed students handing out flyers. Jack waved to them in a friendly manner.

"Hey, Frosty!" One of the strange-looking people called out in a tone that was mocking, but not in a mean way. It was more the kind of mocking that one would do with one's best friend. "How's the boys this year? You seduce any of them yet?"

"Shift it, 'Magenta'," Jack responded light-heartedly. The girl flipped him off with a grin and returned to the rest of the group.

Hiccup's stomach flipped. This was the second time since meeting the guy that someone had referenced the idea that Jack was playing for the other team. He shook these thoughts out of his head. What was he doing? Jack was his RA! It would be like having a crush on your boss… Who also lived in the same building as you. It was probably just a running joke or something anyway.

Luckily, all of these thoughts passed through Hiccup's head in seconds, making the pause seem more like he was waiting for the other guy to get out of earshot. "Friends of yours?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Jack stretched out the word as he considered his response. "They're just… I do some stuff with them sometimes. Like, hang out and… Movies and stuff. Nothing important."

Hiccup looked questioningly toward the two RAs.

"Hey, don't ask me," Jamie put his hands up defensively. "Jack will tell you if it becomes important."

Hiccup wasn't satisfied with that answer, but it would do for now. "So what else is there to do tonight?" He asked, changing the subject in what he hoped was a natural way.

"First off, we've got the block party," Jamie started, only to be interrupted by Jack.

"There's a movie tonight!" The white-haired boy exclaimed with a cheer. "They're showing The Princess Bride after the party." He did a little dance of happiness.

"Oh, I like that movie," Hiccup grinned. He hated to admit it, but Jack looked kind of cute doing his dance, even if it was a little stupid.

"That's because it's a piece of cinematic genius." Jack answered without skipping a beat of his dance. "It's a classic."

Jamie rolled his eyes, smiling as he shoved Jack a little. "Ignore Mr. Movie Buff here. He gets like this."

"You're just jealous that I have these sweet dance moves and basically know everything. You wish you got the girls like I do." Jack looked over at his co-RA a smug grin coloring his features.

"Please, Frost, I have an awesome body and this," Jamie gestured to his face, "going for me. Plus, girls don't like guys who spend more time on their appearance than they do."

"Oh, yeah? Well, I don't know how you managed to miss this, but I'm fun, charming, and probably a perfect 10 **because** of spending so much time on my looks." Jack shot his crooked smile over at his co again as he gestured to his body.

"Yeah, yeah, okay. What do you think, Hiccup?" Jamie turned to look at the resident. "Who's more of a catch, me or this one?"

Hiccup froze as the RAs both tried to "win" by posing and looking at him with what they deemed their "sexy faces". "Well- I mean, I just…" He looked quickly from side to side. "You guys like sports?" Jack and Jamie gave him a funny look. "I… Don't know why I asked that. I don't like sports. Or play them, really. Nah, I wouldn't do well with a coach or team. They wouldn't know what to do with all… this."

Jack laughed to break the silence. "Dude, if you don't feel comfortable with that kind of joke, just say something. We won't be offended or anything."

"No, no, I mean, it's just that back in Berk, we just… don't talk about… that… stuff." Hiccup avoided eye contact, a slight blush forming on his cheeks. "Like, even if it's joking. We just… Don't."

Jack had a strange look on his face, one that Hiccup couldn't identify, but just as he was opening up his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by a high-pitched, female scream. "Jaaaaaaaaaack!" The voice cried out.

The boys turned toward the source of the voice to see a petite woman with a very unique, pixie-cut hairdo. No, really, this hair was ridiculous. It was dyed at least four different colors that Hiccup could distinguish, but they also combined in places to create new and different shades. Her eyes were another standout feature. They were blue naturally, but she wore violet contacts to make them pop even more. That, along with her pink eyeshadow and long, fake lashes, really made her eyes the main focus of her face.

The woman, whose nametag read "Ana Fisher", was also wearing the blue staff shirt, but instead of the jeans that the boys were wearing, she had on a floaty, feathered skirt and knee-high striped socks with blue, high heeled ankle boots (not that they did much; she was still shorter than the guys). To complete the outfit, she wore long, yellow feather earrings in the first holes, gold studs ringing the entire rest of her ears, and golden bracelets on each wrist. She ran over to the three guys with a speed, agility, and grace that Hiccup had never seen before, especially from someone wearing such high heels (seriously, they had to be 5 inches tall, at least!). She actually reminded Hiccup a lot of a hummingbird with her small stature and the way she almost flitted about.

"Tooth!" Jack reached out with one arm to accept the hug that was coming from Ana. Leaving his arm draped around the small woman's shoulders, he grinned and buried a kiss in her hair. Hiccup would be lying if he said that his heart didn't sink a little bit. "How was move-in?"

"Oh, it went great, Jack! All of the girls are super nice. They're so wonderful! Hi, Jamie!" She hardly seemed to take a breath during this spiel. Jamie smiled and gave a small wave. "And who's this guy?"

"That's Hiccup," Jack offered, never taking that damned hand off of Ana's shoulders. "He's one of our residents. Hiccup, this is Ana. She's one of the girls' side RAs."

"You can call me Tooth, everyone does." Ana smiled brightly at the brunette. "If you ever need anything, these boys are two of the best RAs you can hope for. But if you need a woman's touch, I am always available. I'm right on the other side of the hall, room 335. It's in the short hallway. This year is going to be so much fun!"

Hiccup could only blink at the speed this woman was speaking with. She seemed like she could continue talking forever if someone let her. "Um, hi," he finally responded. "I'll definitely keep that in mind."

Suddenly, Ana let out another ear-piercing shriek. "Oh my god," she screamed, "Your teeth are so cute! Can I see?" Without waiting for permission, Ana leapt forward and was about to stick her fingers in Hiccup's mouth when Jack caught her by the back of her shirt.

"Tooth, you can't touch the residents, remember?" He tugged her back over to his side with a chuckle. "Don't be weird, either."

Ana swatted the white-haired RA's shoulder before giggling a bit to herself. Hiccup couldn't help but notice that Jack had let her actually make contact with the shoulder and didn't even try to get out of her way. "Oops, I almost forgot. I love teeth," Ana explained to Hiccup. "Yours are just too adorable!"

"Is it too late to change halls?" Hiccup asked dryly, with a raised eyebrow.

Ana looked back at him with the most wounded facial expression he could imagine. Her arms dropped to dangle by her side. "I'm sorry…" She said. "Please don't move to another hall just because of me."

"Kidding, Kidding!" Hiccup held his hands up defensively. "I was just kidding. It's, ah, it's kinda' what I do."

"Oh, good!" Ana looked visibly relieved. She resumed her previous stance of casually hugging Jack. "I've scared people off before. I just keep forgetting not everyone has the same affinity for teeth that I do!"

"Or the same level of weird." Jamie smirked at the woman. "She almost scared me away last year. Oh man, you should have seen when she met Jack over here though. She flipped out."

Ana giggled. "Can I help it? His teeth are perfect! Come on, show us those pearly whites." She cooed.

Jack laughed bashfully, as if blowing it off, but did as Ana had asked anyway and smiled (at the ground, but it was still a smile). She clapped her hands and squealed a little bit.

"Aren't they just perfect?" She gushed to Hiccup.

"They're, um, nice?" Hiccup responded. "Very… White?" This answer seemed to please Ana, who giggled her pleasure. This brought her back to looking at Jack. They locked gazes and smiled at each other fondly. "So, it's cool that you guys are allowed to date." Hiccup said, breaking the moment. "You know, being coworkers and all."

The three RAs immediately burst into laughter. Jamie had the worst of it. He just couldn't control himself. "Jack and Tooth? **Dating?** That's just too-" He couldn't even finish his sentence; he was laughing too hard.

"We are not dating," Ana laughed, delighted. "I'm glad you think I could reel in a hottie like Jack, though!"

Jack was at least trying to remain serious, though his eyes still twinkled with glee. "Ah, give yourself some credit, Ana. You could get any guy you want and you know it. Anyway, Hiccup, it's an honest mistake. A hilarious one, but honest nonetheless."

Ana giggled again. "Yeah, like I'm even Jack's type anyway."

"Hey, you are charming, funny, and beautiful." Jack planted another kiss on Ana's head. "Way I see it, you're exactly my type."

"Oh, you flatter me, you charmer," Ana responded, grinning wider and hugging Jack again. She rested her head on his chest. "Too funny, though."

"Okay, okay, I made a mistake." Hiccup rolled his eyes. "Can we move on now?"

"Actually," Jamie said, looking down at his phone, "it's pretty much almost time for the block party. You guys wanna' walk over together?"

"Ooh, that sounds like fun!" Ana agreed, pulling Jack's arm and leading him in the direction of the block party. "Come on, Hiccup!" She called backwards. "I want a free tee shirt!"

The quartet headed off on their merry way to visit the block party, and Hiccup was left with another unwelcome twinge of hope that maybe, just maybe, he might have a chance with his RA.


	3. A Long Night

_It's baaack! Welcome back to ResLifing Ain't Easy. Thank you all so much for continuing to support me, and I'm sorry that it took a little bit longer to get this chapter out. I was beta reading a friend's novel for most of the week; exciting stuff! But I'm back now. This chapter is super drama-filled. I didn't set out to have such a tense ending, it just kind of… Happened. Anyway, Dance Central 3 belongs to Harmonix. Thank you to MightyMeCreative on YouTube… I used her video found at __ watch?v=NVCiPAl41cY__ as the framework for the video game sequence because I fail at life :P With that all out of the way, I hope you enjoy this next chapter!_

Hiccup was standing on the edge of the earth. Okay, so not the earth, exactly, but it sure felt like it. In reality, the edge on which he was standing belonged to the platform that led to the dismount spot for a zip lining setup. He was all strapped in and ready to go; all he had to do was wait for Jack.

After arriving at the block party and receiving their free tee shirts, the quartet had decided to get in the increasingly long line to go zip lining. While waiting for their turn, some playful banter had arisen between Jack and Hiccup, and they decided that the only way to settle their argument was with a race. Now, they were finally up at the top. Hiccup was feeling the rush of excitement that he got whenever he was high above the ground. Admittedly, the setup was not that high, but it was thrilling nonetheless.

With the last strap in place, Jack turned to give a challenging nod to his resident. The man working the attraction would count them down, and then the pair would push off and try to be the first one at the bottom. "On your marks…" The man started. "Get set… GO!"

And with that, they were off. Hiccup was filled with an indescribable joy at the feeling of the winds rushing past him. Jack seemed to be pretty into it too; Hiccup could hear him whooping the whole ride down. As soon as it began, though, the race was over. It felt to the two guys like it went by far too quickly.

"So?" Jack turned to ask another man who was helping them out of their harnesses. "Who won?"

The man considered the men before him. "I think it was this one," he said finally, pointing at Jack.

Jack jumped up into the air and pumped his fist with pride. "What did I tell you?" He cheered. "I just totally **beat** your ass in that!"

"Okay, okay, you win this round." Hiccup tried to contain the smile on his face, but the pure bliss from flying through the air was just too much for him to handle right then. "But you know this isn't over."

"Just try to beat me!" Jack laughed as he lifted his arms up overhead to stretch them out. "You will never win!"

"That's what you think." The younger boy said with a smirk as the pair left the dismounting area to watch the other RAs go down the zip line.

Jack sighed and leaned against the safety rail separating them from the action. Hiccup watched him for a bit while the other two were being strapped into their harnesses. When Jack, feeling the gaze on him, turned to meet Hiccup's eye, though, the younger quickly looked the other way. Jack smirked, but didn't say anything. They watched in silence as Ana and Jamie took their turn on the zip line.

Again, it was over way too fast. Soon, Ana was jumping into Jack's arms to capture him in a flying attack-hug. "Did you see that? Did you see how fast I was going?" She was practically vibrating with excitement. "It was like I was **flying**!"

"Oh, we saw," Jack replied, gently returning Ana to her place on Earth. "You looked like you were having a blast. Both of you," he said, turning to Jamie. "First time, wasn't it?" He asked.

Jamie nodded. "I've always wanted to do zip lining. It was incredible!"

"Yeah," Hiccup added. "There really is no other feeling like the wind blowing against your face like that."

"So what are we up to next?" Ana grinned. "We still have like an hour and a half until the movie starts, and I know Jack here won't let us miss it."

"Well," Jamie shrugged. "We could always head back to the hall and play video games for a little bit until it's time for the movie."

"Ooh, that's a fantastic idea!" Ana bounced on the balls of her feet. "Can we go?"

Everyone looked to Jack with varying degrees of begging displayed on their faces. "Sure, why not?" Jack asked, laughing softly. "I mean, we can just do a few quick songs on Dance Central or something, right, Jamie?"

"Sure, volunteer **my** games." Jamie made a big show of rolling his eyes. "I **guess** if that's what you all want to do."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ana was already off on the way back to the dorm, and she was dragging Jack along behind her, having wrapped a hand around his wrist.

Jamie laughed and began chasing after them. This left Hiccup to play catch-up. The group being who they were, it became an impromptu race to see who could get back to the dorm first. They arrived, laughing and out-of-breath, only to run into the hall director straightening the lobby up a little.

E. Aster Bunnymund was a very tall man. He towered over most of the people in the dorm. He was built like a tank, though, all sinew and rippling muscle. He had perfectly ruffled black hair that was beginning to gray at the edges. He wore a pressed, green shirt with dress pants and brown leather boots. When he saw the three RAs and the resident walking in, he rolled his eyes. "Jack Overland, what have I told you about keeping this lobby clean, mate?" He asked in a gruff Australian accent.

"Sorry about that, Bunny," Jack smirked in reply. "I guess I've just too busy with my other RA duties to make sure that people throw away their gum wrappers."

Aster sighed, exasperated. "Just clean it up next time," he ordered. "Hello, Jamie. Tooth."

"Hi, Aster!" Ana replied.

"Hi, Mr. Bunnymund." Jamie added at the same time.

Aster smiled at them. "Thanks to you two for doing your jobs. Your sectors look good."

"We try," Jamie seemed to puff up a little in pride. "Oh, Mr. Bunnymund, this is Hiccup, by the way. He's one of Jack's and my residents."

"Hiccup, eh?" Aster peered at the brunette boy before him. "Sorry that you were stuck with this lot."

"Nah, they're pretty cool," Hiccup reassured the large man. "They've been keeping me company and showing me around all evening."

"Good, good." Aster nodded thoughtfully. "Now listen, I'd better not see you in my office, got that?"

"Uh, y-yes, sir," Hiccup offered his hand out to the man, who took it in a firm shake.

"Well, it was good meeting you." Aster nodded as he let go of Hiccup's hand. "If you all don't mind, I have work to be getting back to. See you all later, then." And with that, he disappeared behind his office door.

"Well, that was… fun." Hiccup said flatly.

The RAs chuckled. "Bunny's just a big old softie," Jack reassured him. "He's only scary if you're in trouble."

"Which Jack is constantly," Jamie pointed out.

"I think we all know that Bunny likes me, deep down inside." Jack clapped a hand on his co's shoulder. "He thinks I'm fun."

"'Fun' might not be the right word for it, Jack." Ana poked him in the ribs. "Maybe 'annoying'?"

"Or perhaps 'obnoxious'?" Jamie offered.

"'Exasperating'?"

"'Immature'?"

"'Pesky'?"

"'Maddening'?"

"'Irritating'."

"Okay, we get it," Jack crossed his arms with a pout. "We can all Google synonyms for 'annoying' on our phones."

Ana and Jamie grinned sheepishly and put their phones back into their respective holding spots (jeans pocket for Jamie, bra for Ana).

"So are we going to play video games or what?" Jack asked, cockily stretching out his upper body. "I kinda' feel like schooling you all right now."

"Oh, oh, bring it, Frost," Jamie cracked his knuckles and smirked at Jack. "Let's make it a bet. Loser has to go to the convo tomorrow morning while the winner gets to stay back here and do check-ins."

"It is **on**." Jack shook Jamie's hand. "Have fun at that ceremony!" He began racing upstairs, and Jamie rushed to catch up.

"Boys," Ana shrugged at Hiccup, rolling her eyes before following the male RAs.

Hiccup chuckled and followed her. When they arrived upstairs, Jack and Jamie were already inside Jamie's room, setting up the video game system. "Usual rules," Jack was saying. "Best two out of three. Highest score wins." He turned toward the door. "Actually…You guys wanna' do teams?"

"Yes, yes!" Ana cheered and ran over to hug Jamie's arm. "I call Jamie's team!"

"Hey!" Jack looked offended.

"Sorry, Jack, but when I play on Jamie's team, I actually feel useful."

"Hey, it's okay, that means I get to dance with Hiccup," Jack beamed excitedly. "We're gonna' kick some ass." He assured his partner.

"Um, nah, you can just… Dance without me." Hiccup raised his hands in front of him. "I'm no good at dancing, really."

"What?" Ana looked dismayed. "But if you don't join Jack's team, then that means that I can't be on Jamie's!"

"Pleeeeeeease?" Jack asked, grinning widely.

Hiccup felt butterflies rising in his stomach, knowing then that he was defeated. "Oh, alright, I guess I can try a little."

Jack and Ana both jumped up and cheered while Jamie rolled his eyes in a good-natured manner. "Come on, guys," he said, "if we want to get in more than one round of crew throwdown, we really should get started soon."

So they got their game on.

The game had them pose as teams for photos. "It'll call you up with facial detection stuff," Jamie explained to Hiccup. It then lit up with "player 1", showing a picture of Jack and one of Jamie. After the pair high-fived to start the game, they did a head-to-head mini-dance battle to Moves Like Jagger. The score was close, but Jamie won by a nose. He gloated, naturally, and the game called up "player 2", Hiccup and Ana.

For their game, they had to essentially make up their own moves to Stereo Love. They had to keep the beat and try to steal each other's moves. Hiccup tried his hardest, but when he said he was no good at dancing, he really meant it. He was pretty stiff and awkward the whole time, and Ana demolished him. She laughed and offered a "good try!" when they had finished.

For the next mini-game, it was Jack and Jamie's turn again. They each had to "create" two moves that the game then looped together to go with On the Floor. Jack, of course, had to be a show-off and pull out some of his ballet training, so naturally, Jamie lost.

For the final dance battle, Hiccup and Ana had to go against each other to OMG. It was the standard Dance Central battle, and Hiccup didn't stand a chance. The dance was way too hard. He stayed completely serious and focused the entire time, though. As he tried to get the rhythm of the combinations right, his tongue started poking itself out of his lips and his eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Jack caught himself staring more than once. He kept on trying to look away and stop thinking about how cute that little tongue was and how intensely Hiccup was concentrating and how that tongue would feel so nice if oh god he was doing it again make it stop. Jack was almost relieved when the game was over and his team lost.

Ana and Jamie cheered, high-fiving and hugging in celebration. "What was that you said about having fun at the convo?" Jamie teased.

"Yeah, yeah," Jack grumbled. "You're just lucky we went easy on you, right, Hiccup?" He elbowed the resident in the side.

"Uh, yeah." Hiccup agreed. "We knew that you would be no match for our… Skills." The group laughed together. "No, but seriously, though, I'm sorry I messed that up for ya'. I told you I'm not a good dancer."

"Aw, don't worry about it," Jack sent a million-dollar smile Hiccup's way. "We had fun doing it, and that's all that matters. But someday!" He lifted a fist into the air. "We will get our revenge!" And with that, he collapsed onto Jamie's bed.

"Get off, you weirdo," Jamie nudged Jack's leg with his foot. "You're messing up my sheets."

"Oh, am I?" Jack asked, grinning conspiratorially over at Ana and Hiccup. Then, he started thrashing around. "How about now? Am I messing up your sheets now?"

"Jack, get off!" Jamie whined. "Do you know how long I spent on this?"

"Make me!" Jack sang out gleefully. "You couldn't get me off if you tried!"

Jamie was really starting to get angry now. "That's not what you said back in tenth grade!" He finally exploded, fists clenched at his sides.

Jack stopped goofing around and sat up on Jamie's bed. He had been stunned into silence.

"Woah, Jamie…" Ana laid a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Too far."

Hiccup shifted his weight between his feet uncomfortably. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, but the air was thick with tension. "You know, I'm, ah, just going to walk on over to the movie thing…" He began backing out of the room.

"Wait," Jack announced. "I'll come with you." He got off the bed and brushed himself off. "No sense missing an awesome movie, right? Come on, let's go."

"But, Jack…" Ana called out softly.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me." Jack opened his arms as if to show that he was okay, which it was clear from the manic way he was acting that he was not. "I just want to go watch a fine film with my new friend Hiccup, alright? Come on, let's go."

"Jack, wait-" Jamie made a move to follow the pair.

"We'll talk later." Jack replied. "I'll knock on your door when you can get your feelings under control." And with that, he stormed off down the hallway.

Hiccup stayed where he was for a second. "Da da da," he said, turning to Jamie. "You're dead." And with that, he rushed to catch up with Jack.

The walk over was uncomfortable, to say the least. Jack didn't feel like talking, and Hiccup **tried** to respect that, but he also wanted to make it seem like a normal walk, not like he had just witnessed two lifelong friends fighting. Eventually, he just stopped trying. When they reached the place where the movie would be held, Jack asked if Hiccup wanted to share a popcorn (he did), but that was about it.

The entire showing of the movie was just as awkward. Both guys would laugh at the funny parts, and Jack even said a few of his favorite lines along with the movie, but it seemed fake, hollow. Dishonest, almost. It was on the walk back to the dorm that the white-haired RA finally seemed ready to strike up a conversation. "I'm sorry that you had to witness that. You know, the thing between Jamie and me."

"What, the fight thing?" Hiccup scoffed. "That was nothing. It was no big deal, I mean really."

"No, I should apologize." Jack insisted. "I shouldn't have gotten so worked up about it. It was just… Stupid."

"Can I ask what it was about?" Hiccup asked. "I mean, just… If you're willing to talk about it."

Jack yawned. "It's… complicated. A long story. Basically, when I was 16, I decided I had a crush on Jamie. No big whoop. He's still my best friend." He stuck his hands into his jean pockets. "He just decided a play fight would be a good time to bring it up, and that was stupid of him. I'm going to talk to him when we get back."

The question burned on Hiccup's lips. He wanted so badly to ask it, to find out for sure if Jack was into guys or not. Clearly he had been during at least one point in his life. Maybe that was more than just a one-time thing? Hiccup had just worked up the courage to say it, and was opening his mouth to form the words, when-

"Good night, Hiccup," Jack waved as they arrived near Jamie's door.

What? No! When had they even gotten inside? Argh! Hiccup thought angry thoughts to himself. "Good night, Jack." He responded. "I'll see you in the morning at the band run, right?"

"Right," Jack smiled warmly at the brunette. "See you then. Sleep tight." He then knocked on Jamie's door. The other RA had whisked him into the room in what felt like a millisecond.

Hiccup shook his head at himself as he entered his room. He nodded a "hello" to his roommate, who was up watching something on his computer.

Thinking on it, Hiccup was glad he hadn't actually asked the question. So what if Jack was interested in men? That didn't mean he would be interested in Hiccup. And it didn't change the fact that getting involved with his RA would probably be a no-no. And if the answer was no?

Well, Hiccup liked to keep a little hope.

_Damn! I had NOT intended for that news to come out that quickly. You know what they say, though, sometimes the characters take on a life of their own. Until next time!_


	4. The Morning After

_Holy crap, man, this is one long-ass chapter. I am so sorry for the long wait and for the not-very-good quality of this chapter compared to the first three. I have no idea why it was so difficult to write. Oh man, though, this is becoming less of a strict RotG/HtTYD crossover and more of a massive multi-universe crossover of a bunch of different 3D animated worlds. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!_

_Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is copyright Columbia Pictures, and Up! And Tangled are both copyright Disney/Pixar. Check Yes Juliet is copyright Sam & Sluggo._

Jack rolled out of bed the next morning with drooping eyes. He had only gotten a few hours' sleep that night. He and Jamie had talked until about four in the morning, and even after Jack had gotten back to his room, he was kept awake by his brain, which just wouldn't shut up. Needless to say, Jack was not in the best of spirits. He grumbled as he grabbed his towel and shower stuff. With one final check to make sure that he had his keys and the door was locked, Jack slipped on his sandals and headed for the bathroom.

No one seemed to be up yet. Of course they wouldn't be, though. The excitement of freshman move-in day was affecting everyone; even the few upperclassmen who had moved in the day before were probably not going to be awake this early.

This was something that Jack had always found annoying and confusing. The university highly encouraged people to go to the academic convocation, but the only real way for new students to get there was to go along for the band run, which started at nine in the morning. It was like the people in charge of welcome days scheduling had never met a college freshman before.

Jack grumpily undressed himself in the shower changing area and twisted the knob. He waited for a few minutes, but the water refused to warm up. No matter; Jack actually preferred cold showers on days like today. It would wake him up and keep him at least somewhat cool. Well, for a few minutes, anyway. He stepped in and began washing his hair and body.

As the shower went on, Jack found himself slowly waking up. As he started whistling, he heard another guy getting into the shower next to his, but he paid it no mind. The whistling morphed into a hum, which proceeded to turn into a soft singing.

"Check yes, Juliet, are you with me?/Rain is falling down on the sidewalk/I won't go until you come outside…" Jack allowed himself to rock out a little bit before starting back up. "Check yes Juliet, kill the limbo/I'll keep tossing rocks at your window/There's no turning back for us tonight… Lace up your shoes!"

Jack was then startled by the sound of another voice joining in for the "ay-o ay-o". He continued singing, though. "Here's how we do…"

Now the voice was joining in on the chorus. The two men sang in unison: "Run baby run/Don't ever look back/They'll tear us apart if we give them the chance/(Give them the chance)/Don't sell your heart, don't say we're not meant to be/Run baby run/Forever we'll be… You and me."

By this point, Jack was done washing himself, but he found himself staying so he could sing along with the mysterious stranger. They finished the song together, harmonizing as they got to the end. Neither of their voices sounded particularly amazing, but they were having fun doing it anyway.

"That was fun," Jack commented out loud, laughing as he did so. He hoped that his shower buddy would hear and appreciate it. Stepping out of the shower, he wrapped the towel around his waist and then went over to the mirror to mess with his hair before it could dry flat. After a moment, he heard the other guy getting out of the shower. Jack looked over just in time to see a now-familiar freckled face staring back at him in shock. As Hiccup escaped awkwardly, Jack caught another glimpse at the tattoo on his freckled back, but it was still not a good enough view to tell what it was. Jack chuckled to himself, then gathered his stuff and went back to his room.

Well, at least he knew one resident would be doing the band run.

* * *

After Jack got dressed and brushed his teeth, he begrudgingly gathered his things and headed outside. His stomach was rumbling, but he knew that there was food outside in the area where they would be waiting for the band run to start. He groaned inwardly, though, knowing that the available food would probably not be any better than the past two years: Nutri-Grain bars, sour apples, and rotting bananas. Maybe if they were lucky, there would be some of the over-processed orange juice drink crap that seemed to be at every breakfast-type event. Jack shuddered at the thought.

Jack arrived outside to find that all of his predictions were correct: there were very few residents there, everyone looked tired, and the food was terrible. He carefully picked through the fruit until he found a banana that didn't look completely offensive and walked off to go socialize with the residents.

"Hi, Jack!" There was suddenly a tiny pair of arms wrapped around his midsection. "I love the band run! It's so great seeing how hard our band kids have been working!"

Jack took the wrists of the arms and twirled them to reveal Tooth grinning widely, chipper as always. "How in the **world** are you so upbeat this early in the morning?"

"Sam and I have been up for hours already!" Tooth giggled, grabbing the waist of the girl next to her. She had shoulder-length, layered, red hair that glinted with blonde highlights in the sun. Her blue-green eyes glittered with the smile that seemed to be taking up her entire face. She was wearing the same school spirit shirt that all of the other RAs were wearing, and the nametag on hers read "Sam Sparks". She also had on a pair of dark jeans with a white, plastic belt around her hips and a strand of pearls around her neck.

"Yeah," Sam added, poking Jack in the shoulder. "We had a lot of pre-planning to do if we want to have new door decs up every month."

"You girls are crazy," Jack shook his head. "I don't know how you manage your course load and RA duties **and** your organizations."

"Okay, I know meteorology and communications aren't the **easiest** majors, and Tooth doesn't have the smallest course load either" Sam replied, "but it's really not that difficult."

"We just need to plan, plan, plan!" Tooth agreed. "Never sleeping in is a small price to pay for the perfect college experience."

"Not to mention the smiles on our girls' faces." Sam nodded as if there was nothing left to say on the topic.

"I don't know; I still think you're crazy." Jack responded by ruffling the girls' hair. Tooth giggled while Sam shrieked.

"Jack, no, not the hair!" She swatted at his hand. "I have to look nice for the girls for opening weekend."

"Is that why you're not wearing your glasses today?" Jack asked, removing his hand. "I thought you, you know, needed them to see."

"It's not that bad." Sam insisted, retrieving a compact mirror from Tooth's purse. She immediately set to work making her hair perfect again. "Besides, it's a special occasion. They'll almost never see me looking nice this year. I'll be in 'Nerd City' 24/7."

"No one thinks you're a nerd, Sam." Tooth placed a hand on her co's arm. "You're a smart, kind girl who really needs to give me my mirror back."

Sam smiled at her reflection one last time before handing the compact back to its proper owner.

"That's your freebie." Tooth joked as she grabbed her compact back.

Sam shrugged. "Well," she said, "I think I see some of our residents over there. I'm gonna' go make them feel welcome!"

Tooth watched to make sure that Sam was out of earshot before turning to Jack with a motherly, concerned look on her face. "Did you talk to Jamie?" She asked.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck and lowered his voice. "I mean, we talked. He knows that it's not cool to fight in front of residents. We got it all figured out. It's okay."

"But are **you** okay, Jack?" Tooth placed a caring hand on his forearm. He shifted his weight and was about to answer, but he was interrupted by none other than their most friendly resident, Hiccup.

"Hey, guys," Hiccup waved to the two RAs as he stepped up to join their conversation, Nutri-Grain bar in hand.

"Hiccup!" Jack exclaimed, grateful for the change in topic. "How you doing today? Early enough for you?"

"Yeah," Hiccup ran a hand through his messy, chestnut hair. "I just love waking up early in the morning. Watching the sun rise, hearing the birds chirp… Best feeling ever."

"Oh, I know, right? Isn't it just the best?" Tooth asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet with a huge smile. It took her a second to realize that Hiccup's answer had been sarcastic. "I mean… My co and I wake up early all the time to work on things and have girl time. It's kind of 'our thing'."

"Riiiiiiiiiight…"Hiccup drew the word out and was thinking of a clever response, but he got a little distracted by the sight of Jack beginning to eat his banana. Tooth giggled, but before anyone could say anything, the band began marching closer. The music could be heard very suddenly and very loudly.

Tooth jumped up and clapped her hands together in excitement. "Get ready for this, Hiccup!" She squealed. "Once they get here, we get to split up into our colleges and walk over with people from them and listen to the band play, and it'll be so much **fun**!"

Hiccup froze in the middle of a bite from his Nutri-Grain bar. "You mean… I don't get to walk over with you guys?"

"Oh, you'll be fine," Tooth reassured the nervous resident.

"Besides, it's good to get to know other art people before classes start." Jack added around a mouthful of banana. He was determined to finish it before they began walking.

The band was now nearly in front of the dorm, and volunteers were walking around holding up signs with the various colleges' names on them. They had already stopped at two halls, so there was a fairly large group following each volunteer. With a look back to Jack, who was giving him a confident thumbs-up, Hiccup headed over to the volunteer holding the brown sign that read "Visual and Performing Arts". He awkwardly situated himself between a girl with short, choppy, brown hair and one with longer, reddish hair tied in a ponytail. He tried to remain inconspicuous, but the girls would apparently have none of that. As soon as they started walking off to the next stop, they both turned to look at him.

"Name and major?" The ponytailed girl demanded.

"Um, hi, I'm Hiccup." He responded with wide eyes. "I'm a metalworking major."

"Well, I'm Ellie! Ellie Docter. That's Docter with an 'e'. Someday, it'll be 'Fredericksen', also with an 'e'. You should add me on Facebook. I'm a painting major, so we'll probably be in some foundations classes together. We can plan study sessions. I'll bring the snacks. My boyfriend always says that I make the best snacks." Ellie didn't speak with the same speed as Tooth, but there was a certain urgency to what she was saying that made Hiccup want to listen. Her turquoise eyes showed the intensity and passion behind every word she said. She smoothed down her pink, '50s-era-housewife-esque dress and looked at him expectantly.

"Uh, that sounds… Great." Hiccup smiled, just a little bit of fear showing through. This girl was intense with a capital 'I'.

"Great, now we have three members!" The other girl's smile shone brightly. "Hi, I'm Rapunzel. I'm also a painting major, but I'm a sophomore, so I probably won't be having that many classes with you guys. I can still help, though!" She bit her lip and glanced up at Hiccup with her large green eyes.

He couldn't help but notice her slight overbite and barely-noticeable lisp. Those, coupled with her petite figure and light freckles, made her look much too young to be in university at all, much less a sophomore. Even her pink-and-purple outfit seemed young, despite its corset-style lacing up the front.

"That's great." Hiccup replied.

Rapunzel was visibly excited. "Who's your RA?" She asked. "I'm friends with a lot of them."

"I've got Jack and Jamie… I don't know if you know them?" Hiccup stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged a little.

"Jack Overland?" Rapunzel asked, eyes sparkling. "I love Jack! We had a bunch of dance classes together last year. We're both dance minors, actually. But yeah, he's great! Really good at partnering. Oh, you'll just love him." She gushed.

"He sounds great," Ellie piped up, "but we have important business to attend to! As the inaugural members of 'The Official Art Major Fundamentals Course Study Coalition', we must take a sacred oath to help all who come to our door seeking aid!"

"Agreed!" Rapunzel smiled.

"And you?" Ellie pointed dramatically towards Hiccup.

"Um, yeah, sure." Hiccup nodded. "Why not?"

"Good, so it's settled." Ellie crossed her arms. "Now all we need is badges. That'll show everyone that we're important."

"I have a button maker!" Rapunzel offered.

"Perfect!" Ellie exclaimed while the girls high-fived.

By this point, the large group had picked up the residents from the final dorm on the band run route and was now standing around in a large field while the band played some top 40 songs to pump up the student body. Ellie and Rapunzel kept chattering about their study group while the dance team performed alongside the band. Ellie also took both of the others' cell phones and put her number in, 'in case the Coalition needs each other in times of desperate need!'. Finally, the band, dancers, RAs, and volunteers led the students in a rendition of the school fight song before they were finally allowed to go into the convocation center, where the academic convocation was being held.

The convo itself wasn't terrible. It was incredibly long and incredibly boring, but there was some pretty cool information presented, and they all got some nice pins with the university logo on them. There was also a slam poetry performance (probably an attempt to make the morning somewhat interesting) that made Hiccup both laugh out loud and almost tear up over the course of a few lines. Mostly, though, he was glad to have Ellie and Rapunzel sitting next to him. Even though he had just met the girls, Hiccup was comforted by their presence. The constant whispering and hushed laughter helped the time pass more quickly.

By the time that the convocation was finally over and it was time for the tailgate-style lunch, Hiccup was starving. He was also looking forward to getting to talk with Jack again. 'Oh, right,' he thought to himself. 'And Jamie, too. Yeah, Jack and Jamie. And Tooth! Her, too. Not just Jack. No, sir.'

Anyway, he enjoyed time with these girls, but it was time to talk with a guy again. "Well, I'm going to go find my RAs." He smiled at the girls.

"Oh, Hiccup, can we join you?" Ellie asked earnestly. "We'd love to meet your friends, wouldn't we, Punzie?"

"That would be great!" Rapunzel agreed. "I mean, if you don't mind."

"Uh…" Hiccup rubbed the back of his neck and blew air through his lips. "I mean, sure. Why not? I think I see one of them over there."

The girls made happy noises and followed Hiccup over to where he saw Tooth chatting up one of her classmates. Tooth saw them, too, so she smiled and waved ecstatically. She excused herself from the conversation with the blue-eyed brunette, calling out a "see ya' in class, Kari!" as she made her way over to the trio. "Whoo!" She exclaimed as she neared them. "I love that girl, but boy, can she **talk**!"

"Hey, Tooth," Hiccup smiled awkwardly in greeting before turning to the girls behind him. "She's another RA on the floor."

"Hi." Ellie stuck a hand out to the approaching RA. "I'm Ellie Docter. That's Docter with an 'e'. Someday, it'll be 'Fredericksen', also with an 'e'. Hiccup and Rapunzel and I are forming a study coalition. Oh, yeah, this is Rapunzel."

"Hi!" Rapunzel added with a smile and a wave.

"Nice to meet you girls," Tooth shook Ellie's outstretched hand before offering her own to Rapunzel. "Hiccup," she said, switching her focus over to the resident, "I think I saw Jack over that way. Wanna' go get him while I get to know these girls? Then we can all go get some food together! Sound good?"

"Ah, sure." Hiccup replied in an uncertain voice. "So he's just… Right over… There-ish?"

"Uh-huh." Tooth confirmed.

"And you all will be here?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes, sir!" Tooth chirped. "Right next to this tree with the flag on it."

"Alright, I'll just… Get on that, then." Hiccup stood in place awkwardly for a moment before walking off in the direction that Tooth had gestured toward. He could hear the girls giggling behind him, and his ears started to burn. Hiccup had to breathe deeply and remind himself that this wasn't high school anymore. He was at least mostly safe now. Besides, he had a mission to attend to. He searched for the now-familiar head of white hair.

After a few minutes of searching, he was about to give up and go back to the girls when he felt a warm breath tickling the back of his neck. "Can I offer you a drink?" A voice whispered.

Hiccup froze. He generally did not like being this close to people. It usually meant something unpleasant was going to happen. He had only ever let one person get this close to him, and that was sure as hell not who was behind him now; Hiccup was sure of that.

He relaxed, though, when the voice started laughing and the breath left his neck. He turned around to see Jack holding two water bottles with a grin on his face. "Well, want one?" He asked, smirking.

"Ah, yeah, thanks." Hiccup's voice was slightly shaky, but Jack didn't seem to notice. Hiccup took the water that was offered to him and swallowed a few gulps. "Um, Tooth and a couple of girls I met on the band run are waiting over by that tree there. They wanted us all to get food together."

"That sounds great!" Jack jumped a few inches off the ground, obviously excited. "Let's go get in line!"

"Yeah, they're just right over this way." Hiccup motioned over toward the tree, and they both started walking.

"So how did you like the convo?" Jack asked, strolling confidently beside Hiccup.

"It was long and boring," Hiccup shrugged. "I liked the poetry, though."

"Oh, man, you have no idea how good you have it." Jack stretched his arms over his head, and Hiccup caught a peek at some lettering on the inside of his bicep. "The past few years, it has been so **boring**. It was longer and there wasn't really anything interesting going on. I actually fell asleep my freshman year."

"Yeah, well, I bet it wasn't hot as the inside of a volcano the past few years." Hiccup stated as he pulled on the collar of his wife-beater.

"It sure is hot out, isn't it?" Jack wiped his brow. "I feel like I could cook some fish on my chest right now. Winter is a much better season, if you ask me."

Hiccup nearly tripped over his own feet at the mental image of Jack cooking on his bare chest. He cleared his throat to cover up his shock and desperately tried to come up with a good response. Luckily, Hiccup's ass was saved by the sight of the girls in front of them. "Hey, there he is!" Tooth called out cheerily. She ran up to give Jack a hug.

"Hi, Jack!" Rapunzel waved, her eyes glittering with glee.

Jack's whole face seemed to light up. "Blondie!" He removed himself from Tooth's iron grip and rushed over to the other two girls. "Your hair is so short now!" He exclaimed.

"Yeah," Rapunzel giggled. "I had a fight with my mom, so I just went up into my room and chopped it all off. I actually like it better this way. I dyed it back to my natural color, too. It's so much lower maintenance." She smiled to Jack, who had a concerned look on his face.

"How are things going between the two of you?" He asked.

Rapunzel glanced uncomfortably at Tooth, Hiccup, and Ellie. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" She peeked up to Jack. "We have pas together again, don't we?"

"You know it, shorty." Jack joked with a teasing glint in his eye. "Now who's your friend?" He gestured over to Ellie, who took this as her opportunity to give a grand introduction.

"Hi," she said confidently, putting her hand out in front of her. "I'm Ellie Docter. That's Docter with an-"

"Come on," Tooth interrupted. "We're going to be waiting all day if we don't get in line now."

So the group made their way over to the line for food. Ellie was miffed about not getting to finish her introduction, but that was soon forgotten as they continued to converse. The line seemed to go on forever, but the wait was short enough as they distracted themselves with talk of classes, the dorms, music… They were laughing and having a great time to the point of annoying those around them.

When they got up to the front of the line, Ellie and Tooth fell immediately into the burgers, each creating a sandwich the size of their head. Hiccup laughed and made a normal-sized sandwich for himself while Rapunzel carefully selected a veggie burger from the appropriate food warmer. All four piled their plates high with side dishes.

Jack, on the other hand, was scoffing at the food choices. He picked through the burgers with the food prongs until he found one that wasn't totally offensive. After carefully placing it on his plate, he begrudgingly took some limp-looking vegetables and a scoop of watered-down baked beans. While the other four were getting desserts and sodas from the end of the line, Jack took a handful of napkins and another water bottle. He considered the bags of chips and the desserts at the end of the line, but only ended up taking a single oatmeal raisin cookie. He joined the group at a nearby picnic table and began patting his burger completely dry of grease before cutting into it with the plastic utensils that were offered to the students.

"No bun?" Hiccup asked, taking a bite out of his own burger.

Tooth could barely hold in a laugh, despite her own mouthful of food. "Jack is a health nut." She explained around the burger she was currently chewing on. "This is probably driving him crazy right now."

"I am not a health nut," Jack insisted, snapping a carrot in two. "I just care about my body."

"So… You're a health nut." Rapunzel joined in the light teasing.

"Hey, just because my body will be working better in my forties than yours will in your late twenties…" Jack pushed away Tooth's hand, which was on its way to playfully slap him. He chuckled and resumed his meal. "Anyway, I just care a lot about my body. Can't do much without it."

Tooth laughed and grabbed another forkful of food. "Which is exactly why I want to reward my body by giving it tons of delicious food. Thank you, body!" She shoved the forkful into her mouth, closing her eye and letting out an 'mmm!' to punctuate her sentence.

Rapunzel laughed at the interaction between the two RAs. She delicately chewed her veggie burger and glanced at her phone to check the time. "Oh no!" She exclaimed, taking another quick bite of her burger. "I have to get going. I promised some friends I'd help them move in to their apartment twenty minutes ago."

"I have a car." Ellie piped up. Hiccup realized that he hadn't heard a peep from her since they sat down. Taking a look at her plate, he could see why – hers had been the fullest plate, absolutely overflowing with food, but it was now clean as a whistle. He marveled at the speed she must have eaten with to have finished that much this quickly.

"Oh! Could you drive me?" Rapunzel asked hopefully. "I could buy you some coffee or something to thank you, and I'm sure my friends wouldn't mind your sticking around."

"Sure thing, Punzie!" Ellie stole the untouched chocolate chip bar that was sitting on Rapunzel's napkin and ate it in just a few quick bites. "Well, come on! Let's go." She pulled Rapunzel toward the dorm building where her car was parked and shot the other three a quick goodbye. Before long, Ellie and Rapunzel had disappeared into the crowd.

Jack looked disdainfully down at his food. "I'm probably going to head back, as well. See if I can get a nap in before the academic receptions. You two want to go, too?"

Hiccup and Tooth glanced at their own plates, which were mostly empty. Hiccup shrugged and answered. "Sure. A nap sounds nice."

"I can meet Sam and discuss future bulletin boards," Tooth agreed. "Let's head on out."

They all threw their garbage away and started walking toward the dorm. Tooth chomped on some sugar-free gum as they continued to talk and laugh and go back to their home for the next year.


End file.
